Have you ever seen a Disney park ride pre-show and been surprised to find a familiar face playing a very important role or starring in an in-depth backstory? Or maybe you’ve recognized a distinctive celebrity voice providing an accomplished narration on a particular attraction.
It’s common for Disney to hire some of its most famous actors for lead or supporting roles in feature films and even big-name television specials. Some even consider it the ultimate rite of passage to go from “famous movie actors” to “famous Disney actors”. However, working for Disney Entertainment isn’t just about acting in film and television. For example, we’re all familiar with the ever-growing list of famous actors who have voiced Disney characters without actually appearing on screen. But there are also instances where celebrities have taken on other supporting roles related to Disney park attractions. These are the times when famous people have taken on roles as notable Disney theme park characters in certain attractions, or even provided a character voice or pivotal voice-over. From old famous actors to contemporary favorites, we at Inside the Magic take a look at some well-known celebrities who have played roles at Disney Park over the years.
Related: Ex-Disney Star Makes Surprise Appearance at Disney Park
David Danipour
David Danipour may not be the most well-known actor, but he has appeared in several television series and films. But his role as Dr. Stevens in the Avatar Flight of Passage preshow at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Park is one of his most iconic appearances to date.
Eric Idle
Known for his comedic style and musical talent, this versatile English actor has a pretty impressive resume to say the least. He has appeared in several films and other works over the years, including two Disney World attractions, both under the guise of Dr. Nigel Channing.
Although dr Less well known to most Disney fans today, Channing previously appeared in the now-defunct Honey, I Shrunk the Audience attraction to present Wayne Szalinski with the Inventor of the Year award. But it’s his more prominent, and still more recent, role in the attraction Journey into Imagination with Figment that he’s best known for.
Photo credit: Disney
Related: Journey into Imagination with Figment star Eric Idle jokes about making his own popcorn bucket
Patrick Warburton
This actor with his distinctly deep voice has appeared on many television shows over the years including Seinfeld, The Tick and others. But the role most of us are most familiar with is that of the flight attendant (aka Patrick) in the pre-boarding video for Soarin’. His footage, an attraction located at both Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim and EPCOT in Orlando, was used in both the original Soarin’ Over California and the current version of Soarin’ Around the World. What is less well known is that he voiced the droid G2-4T while queuing for “Star Tours: The Adventures Continue” at both Disneyland Park and Hollywood Studios.
Photo credit: ITM
Related: John Travolta Almost Was Soarin’ Chief Flight Attendant
Gary Sinise
Actor Gary Sinise is no stranger to space missions, having appeared in films such as Apollo 13 and Mission to Mars. And it was the latter role that marked him as the perfect actor to portray Capcom in the Disney World attraction Mission: Space. He held this role until 2017 when the attraction was renewed to create two very different missions for the Green Team and the Orange Team. From then on, actress Gina Torres, best known for her role in the sci-fi series Firefly, joined the party.
Mark Silverman (instead of Rod Serling)
Appropriately enough, Disney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride features footage of the series’ original host Rod Serling. What many don’t realize, however, is that the attraction’s narration is a completely original incarnation, never before featured in any of the original Twilight Zone episodes. Furthermore, Serling was already deceased when this preshow was made. Then how did Disney do it? They hired Serling’s identical voice actor, Mark Silverman, to narrate the lines. Disney then dubbed archive footage used in previous Twilight Zone openings. Silverman was specifically chosen by Serling’s widow for his amazing command of her husband’s voice, and has since lent Serling’s voice to other projects. As for his alternate work at Disney Parks, he also impersonated “Friend Owl” in various Bambi projects and lent his voice to the Magic Kingdom’s “A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas.”
Photo credit: Walden Ponders
Bill Nye
This well-known scientist has appeared in various Disney projects and in particular in the Disney World Parks. Over at the Animal Kingdom Park, he acts as the narrator in the museum portion of the DINOSAUR attraction. However, his more prominent role emerged in the now defunct Ellen’s Universe of Energy attraction at EPCOT. The latter also featured many other celebrities including, of course, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alex Trebek, Johnny Gilbert and Ellen DeGeneres.
Wallace Langham
Once you get past the museum, the pre-show for the aforementioned DINOSAUR attraction has a few stars as well. The main role in the narration is played by American actor Wallace Langham, who has appeared in numerous television and film roles over the years. His role in DINOSAUR is that of Dr. Grant trying to send the attraction’s visitors back to prehistoric times to retrieve a live iguana.
Phylicia Rashad
Another star you may recognize from the DINOSAUR preshow is none other than Phylicia Rashad, best known for her portrayal of Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show between 1984 and 1992. In the preshow she plays Dr. Helen Marsh, the director of the Dino Institute.
Photo credit: Disney Dining
Paul Rubens
This versatile actor is known for many roles including his hugely popular portrayal of Pee-wee Herman. At Disney Entertainment, some may also know him for his work in the 1986 film Flight of the Navigator, but he is best known for playing Captain REX from the first Star Tours at Disney Parks. Today, Captain REX can be found in Oga’s Cantina.
Also Read: The Mandalorian Director Bryce Dallas Howard Reboots ‘Flight of the Navigator’ Movie
Tim Curry
This English actor has been linked to several well-known Disney films over the decades. But one of his more obscure roles with the company is that he voices the Simulated Intelligence Robotics (SIR) XS robot that starred in the preshow for Magic Kingdom Park’s previous attraction ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter between 1995 and 2003 .
Robin Williams
Legendary actor Robin Williams is another Disney great. His most famous dubbing role is as the Djinn in Disney’s 1992 Aladdin. However, what many fans today don’t know is that he also impersonated the role of the timekeeper in a now-defunct film of the same name. It was a Circle-Vision 360-degree film set at Tomorrowland in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park between 1994 and 2006. It also starred voice actress Rhea Perlman. Actor Jeremy Irons, who played Scar in The Lion King (1994), also stars in the film, in which he portrays Jules Verne.
Photo credit: Extinct Disney
Related: Robin Williams Posthumously Appears in Disney Short, Fans Not Happy About It
Judi Dench
Starship Earth has had many notable narrators over the years. However, one of the most famous is Dame Judi Dench, the current presenter, who has held the role since 2008. She took on the role of Jeremy Irons, who we’ve previously highlighted as having a pretty savvy history with Disney in other ways, too. Irons served as the ride’s narrator from 1994 to 2007. Before him was Walter Cronkite from 1986 to 1994 and before him Vic Perrin from 1982 to 1986.
Related: The Narrators of Walt Disney World’s Attractions
Of course, there are many other famous people who have played important roles in various Disney Park attractions over the years. Did we miss anyone that you think is important and should be on the list? Let us know in the comments.
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